In the Midst of Life - Studies in Melanesian Anthropology by A L Epstein Hardcover

About the Book

"An original work . . . it presents to anthropology the model for a new and very important field of inquiry."--Paula Brown Glick, State University of New York, Stony Brook

Book Synopsis

The Tolai are among the most distinctive of Papua New Guinea's indigenous peoples. For all their success in the pursuit of modernity, the Tolai remain traditional in their attitudes toward death, the cultural elaboration of which colors almost every aspect of their existence.

In his new book, A. L. Epstein develops an emotional profile of the Tolai, contending that societies are distinguished as much by the shape of their emotional life as they are by their social arrangements and cultural styles. Epstein describes a wide range of mourning ceremonies and other more and less public occasions. By investigating not only the words that stand for emotions but also the way affect enters into and informs people's conduct, he charts a new course for ethnography that seeks to integrate the study of the emotions into anthropological analysis.

From the Back Cover

An original work . . . it presents to anthropology the model for a new and very important field of inquiry.--Paula Brown Glick, State University of New York, Stony Brook

About the Author

A. L. Epstein is Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology at the University of Sussex.